How Is DWI Viewed In The Courts?

Interviewer: When people are in court should they expect to be treated fairly or do the courts look very poorly upon people who have been accused of DWI?

Eric No, I think for the most part people with DWI will be treated fairly. Certain counties are a little tougher and less fair then others. I find Nassau County to be less fair then other counties, but DWI is a very publicized crime. So the problem being that every day in the newspaper, we’re always hearing some story about some DWI case and we find the judges and prosecutors are sometimes a little bit more harsh to the DWI client then they are to the average defendant. And that’s the only unfair thing that goes on. Somebody who is accused of a DWI, just for being accused, will lose their license as soon as they say not guilty.

However, somebody who is accused of committing another crime such as stealing, shoplifting or something along those lines can continue to drive. And it’s very, very tough. So overall, your treated fairly, but because of the media scrutiny, I think that overall you get sanctioned, you get punished a little more harshly than other people do.